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May 28, 2011

Taliesin West

This post is quite overdue, but its' still fun nonetheless. Anyways, right after school got over Scott and I thought it was finally time to drive up to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's design school in Scottsdale. For Valentine's Day I promised Scott that I would take him there, but unfortunately our busy schedules got the best of us and we never made it out. However, when we finally did our afternoon was lovely, and full of interesting facts and beautiful design.

Dress: TJ Maxx; Bangle: Kate Spade; Flats: Ruby and Bloom; Bag: Coach

Sunglasses: Ray Bans: Shirt: Penguin; Shorts: Volcom; Shoes: Sperry's

Scott has been a long time Frank Lloyd Wright admirer, so it made total sense to go visit his design school since it's so close to home. Wright spent quite a bit of time here in his day, and has quite a few of his designs (buildings and homes) built in the state.

“Frank Lloyd Wright began building this desert masterpiece in 1937 as his personal winter home, studio, and architectural campus. Located on the beautiful Sonoran desert in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in northeast Scottsdale, the site offers a broad range of guided public tours. Visitors experience firsthand Wright’s brilliant ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces.” -franklloydwright.org

The day we went the weather was beautiful. We got there about 15 minutes before our tour was supposed to begin, but the people at the gift shop were kind enough to offer us tickets to go on the more extensive (and expensive) tour for the same price (it was just about to start).

The tour we went on took us around the home of Frank Lloyd Wright, and on the outer part of his design school. We stopped in Wright's office, living room, bedroom (teeny, tiny bathroom included), and in the auditorium of the school (which is still in use today). When we told the man at the gift shop that we were from Phoenix he seemed surprised. He told us that usually people don't explore what's in their own backyards (one of my favorite things to do!).

The living room, the outside featured in the below photo, was filled with uniquely designed furniture and art. Our tour guide said he would hold parties there often and that many celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggo, would be in attendance. Today the room is still used for monthly Saturday parties with the design school students.

Overall, our visit to Taliesin West was very enjoyable. We learned a lot of things we previously didn't know about Wright (like how a man once tried killing him by burning down his house because he was with a mistress), and also more about the school itself (students have to live in tents out in the desert during their time there).

I loved this building, which just happened to be right where our tour began.

Being there I felt very inspired by the past, so this vintage style dress I wore felt just right for the occasion. Check back tomorrow for some photos from our tour!

Have you ever been to/heard of Taliesin before? What about to any of Wright's other designed homes and buildings?